Daily Herald opinion: Community colleges, Job Corps provide valuable training for workers in essential vocations

This editorial is a consensus opinion of the Daily Herald Editorial Board.

Monday was National Decision Day - the deadline for high school seniors to confirm their place at a four-year college or university this fall and put down a dormitory deposit.

Many students have known their destination for months. Others needed every last bit of time to figure out how far they want to be from home, which program best fits their goals and, perhaps more importantly, what they can afford. (An incoming freshman at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, for example, can expect the tab for tuition, room and board, and books and supplies to exceed $35,000.)

But four-year colleges - particularly liberal arts schools - aren't for everybody. Don't misconstrue that as an elitist statement. People who are skilled in the trades are essential to the workforce. Where would we be without plumbers, mechanics and electricians? Answer: Fumbling around and desperately watching YouTube videos to figure out where the water in the basement is coming from, why the car is making that grinding noise and why we can't run the blender and the dryer at the same time. When the furnace stops working, nobody thinks, "I'd better call a copy editor."

Community colleges are a popular option for career and technical education. As our Alicia Fabbre recently reported, students in career and technical education programs make up 16% of the enrollment at Harper College in Palatine. That figure is 26% at Elgin Community College, which is planning to build a $55 million manufacturing center for the HVAC, mechatronics, industrial maintenance, energy management, computer numerical controls and welding programs. Similar ranges are found at other suburban community colleges.

For impoverished students, however, even community college tuition can be cost-prohibitive.

That's where the Job Corps comes in. Administered by the U.S. Department of Labor, the Job Corps was founded in 1964. There are 123 tuition-free Job Corps centers across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, with one in Chicago and one in Joliet. Qualified students live in furnished dormitories and receive three meals a day - at no cost.

They have access to free medical, dental, optometry and mental health services, are provided with all books, uniforms and safety gear for their field of study, and even receive twice-monthly cash stipends. Students who choose to live off-campus can obtain free transportation to and from school, and the 33-acre Chicago center, named for the late Sen. Paul Simon, has on-site day care for children.

Those who complete this highly structured program, which has curfews and a zero-tolerance policy on drugs and violence, go on to such occupations as bricklayer, carpenter, security guard, nursing assistant and pharmacy technician.

High school graduation season will be upon us in a few weeks. We salute not only the university-bound, but also the seniors whose careers will start much sooner than four years from now.